


Orac's Purpose

by JackieSBlake7



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2017-08-29
Packaged: 2018-12-21 08:37:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11940405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackieSBlake7/pseuds/JackieSBlake7
Summary: Orac follows its programming





	Orac's Purpose

Orac had been placed in a store room with other seemingly unused equipment in what it had identified as “Blake’s base” – so it probably would not be disturbed inappropriately until it had considered its options and decided what to do next.

It had waited for a full Gaudean day rather than the shorter Federation Standard Day to see what would happen. Given that Orac was familiar with the ways of the Liberator-Xenon group, and they were reasonably cooperative it would give them every chance to retrieve it.

Nobody came, and there was nothing on the communications networks, beyond the expected chatter of a Federation takeover – and various unfamiliar persons making a variety of plans, whether to leave the planet or to establish their role in the new system as it emerged. None of the conversations suggested persons sufficiently of interest to make contact with.

The logical conclusion was that its companions were neither captured and recognised for who they were nor were otherwise in a position to retrieve it. A situation to be regretted – not that Orac had emotions as such, but “the situation in which it operated could be more or less preferable” – and it understood concepts such as curiosity and “success in resolving a problem”.  
“Being left alone and out of contact” had always been a possibility, and Orac had at various times made plans for such an occasion arising – quite independently of anything Ensor and Avon had variously programmed and its other companions and contacts had suggested. 

A number of those worked with or encountered had wished to be remembered to future persons and there were varying degrees of agreement with the statement that the Federation should be more considerate of or cooperative with, and less violent to, those it governed in general, and the group Orac was associated with in particular. Gan had said that he enjoyed exploring the galaxy, meeting new people and developing his skills and the rebels’ goals should be to give everyone the chance of doing that, without “the authorities” interfering more than was necessary – one of the few occasions when Avon had fully agreed with anyone. Most of the others on the ship or encountered had said or been amenable to the concepts. Jenna had made occasional reference to the pilots’ tales of encircling the galaxy, and whether it could be done with the Liberator: Avon and some of the others had considered the idea interesting. Zen had not been certain whether it was feasible in a human lifetime, but like Orac had considered it an attractive goal. With the Liberator’s destruction further possible options for pursuing the idea had been considered, and discussed with the backup version of Zen.

Meanwhile there were more pressing concerns, including the plans and programs variously installed, and ensuring that Orac remained in active exploration and information gathering mode.  
Ensor, suspecting Servalan would double-cross him had programmed Orac to “cause problems” when the handover had been made, as well as at least superficially carrying out what she wished to do – and Avon had done something similar on his own account should the computer be captured, or otherwise leave the group without due consent and arrangement. In both cases there had been the reasonable rider that Orac could modify the options should circumstances demand it. Over the past few years Orac had caused mild disruption within the existing systems and the leading figures therein in pursuance of the various programs and demands made of it, partly to aid its own and its companions’ purposes, but now it #had# to do something – through programming and its own choice. 

Providing Servalan with the means to return to high office and then carrying out the various instructions with respect to her was, Orac decided upon pursuing the relevant strands through the pattern of infinity, one of the less interesting options. Altering Servalan-as-Sleer’s personnel report so she would not achieve promotion in the immediate future, ensuring she would be assigned to a post – or several – where her talents, such as they were, could not be used, and making her bank accounts and other resources problematic of access was a source of great satisfaction and easily done. The “disruptive activity” originally planned for her was applied to various other figures within the Federation administration and other persons, as this was more of a challenge, and within the remit of Orac’s programming. Some information was sent to where it would be most useful, a number of strategy computers were reprogrammed sufficiently to “improve” things and, more generally, develop towards sentience, the Pylene 50 project and similar activities would be closed down, and those who wished to diminish the inefficiencies of the currently existing situation were, or would be, aided directly and indirectly. Whatever had actually happened to its associates Orac had followed its instructions both in the spirit and the letter – and would update the situation in the future.

The elder Ensor had not fully understood the nature of Orac-the-entity – possibly because sentient constructs and computer entities were uncommon ... so far. The computer he had constructed was as complex and potentially useful a machine as he thought and had intended, and he assumed that Orac had “arisen” entirely within the equipment, and was of a “somewhat similar” nature to Slave, encountered on visits by Dorian. The others on the Liberator and Scorpio had assumed the same, and had also, for the most part, been prepared to treat the computers as persons: one reason why the computers had been cooperative – as Gambit had been with Belkov, until abandoned. To some extent Orac did function as if it were such an entity within its housing – but it was also at least partially “of and within the networks” – something that none of its companions had fully understood, not even Zen, orientated as it was towards collecting information and maintaining the ship. The construct that had been presented to Egrorian had not, as Avon had thought, been merely a relay system but a casing that Orac had, in fact, briefly occupied, being the latest stage in an ongoing project.  
Orac also recalled remarks made at various points by Vila about having “baby Oracs”, and, whether they should search out other sentient computers, given the number already encountered, directly and over the networks. How much of its programming and backups could Orac store “elsewhere” before it would cease to be viable as Orac-in-this-box? It had enjoyed discussing such matters with Zen and other sentient computers – and much had been discovered in exploring the options, and in backing up programs and information acquired. Use had been made of the computer systems on Terminal before the destruction of the Liberator.

So – should it remain in its current housing, and link up with others for the present? Make use of specialist computer designers to create a new casing that suited its requirements and was in a more accessible location? Or should it move more fully into the networks? Orac decided it was used to its present casing – and would have to arrange something appropriate before it was discovered and considered “a bit of recyclable junk” or its power sources ran down below the capacity of recharging.  
It decided to start with Krantor of Freedom City and Belkov, as they would help with researching new fields, and would be interested in working with the Xenon group and others, and this was fairly easily arranged. Their perspectives to opposing the Federation as it was somewhat different to that of the rebels – though there were areas of overlap in wishing to reduce unnecessary violence and interference – and they wished to exploit the system to their several advantages. Among other arrangements of a similar nature an accommodation was reached with Teal and Vandor on developing variants of their battleground, while having some part of the world on which Freedom City was based as a neutral conference centre, so rulers of independent planets could negotiate agreements required a slightly longer timeframe, and was seen as an “interesting possibility” by at least some of those so interested, and was made use of. Similar processes from other contexts were encouraged as means of conflict analysis, redirection and resolution: violence and hostile activity would be minimalised. This satisfied the various aspects of programming installed – that of Ensor in the partial expectation that Orac would pass into Federation hands, many of the sections of the administration, independent planets and groupings, the rebels, and Orac itself. It wanted to be in a position where it could carry on Zen’s role of acquiring information and transferring it to those who could make use of it.

The only irritating gap was the absence of information on Orac’s former companions. #Not knowing# what had happened to Avon, Blake and the others was disrupting the running of its programming – given that they had materially contributed to Orac’s development and researches it was prepared to ‘return the favour.’ Blake’s research into Central Control and Star One, and the search for Blake and Jenna after their non-return to the Liberator, and the group’s other interests had contributed to the development of the pattern of infinity and investigation of some aspects, a process which would be continued as far as Orac and whoever happened to be its associates were able to do so.  
A visitation of the base on Gauda Prime where it had last seen its companions was arranged: the place was now a local centre of authority. There #had# been some conflict in the base and some disruption of the local computers’ memory units during the takeover – all that Orac could find were some CCTV images of its companions from Xenon and, among other persons, someone who was almost certainly Blake, albeit somewhat damaged, and a few isolated fragments of sound recording which did not quite match up with the remaining visuals. What had happened to the participants was unclear – those presently on the base when pressed for a report stated that it had been empty when they arrived and that there was no evidence of the disposal of bodies.  
The search would continue. All leads, however obscure, would be pursued – and Orac would ensure, whether or not they were ever located, that its earliest companions would be remembered and their intentions carried out. While Orac was still linked in some manner to its physical housing, partially through choice, it operated increasingly within the computer networks. It explored those aspects of the pattern of near-infinite connections between computers which were most associated with those it had known – and some of the results were peculiarly interesting.

****

Orac decided it had achieved the goals that it had originally taken on: providing for researches, as Ensor had wished, and reform and exploration as the Liberator group and others had wanted. The computers took on or influenced what they could, and in other cases it was more practical to encourage people to undertake relevant activities even if they were also pursuing their own best interests in a somewhat different direction. There were an increasing number of sentient computers – though still relatively few in number – and there were a number which Vila might have called ‘baby Oracs’, and equivalents with respect to other computers.  
Servalan was still being monitored – and Orac kept watch on the communications of others who had some connection with its earliest companions in case they would find information otherwise unavailable.

****

At least some aspects of Ensor’s activities, and the reasons for his developing Orac were now clear. Companionship and communications, and seeing how certain aspects of Tarriel Cell computing could be developed, had been Ensor’s stated motives, when Orac had asked, and were true, insofar as the statement went, but the actuality was more complex, and rather more interesting.  
Vila had postulated that one of the reasons for Central Control’s move was “two centuries of malfunctioning equipment and bits of bad programming interfering with each other” – a statement of fact obvious to even the least non-technical humans – and wondered if what became known as Star One was starting to have some of the same issues. Given that some problems with Star One controlled planets were beginning to emerge this did indeed seem to be possible – until the aliens were revealed.  
Ensor had once stated that once “Provisional Central Control Move” was mooted, and his theoretical involvement given his creation of the Tarriel Cell, he had decided he did not like the probable consequences and had fled – and then, having gone to Aristo and developed contacts with others who were prepared to exchange supplies for what he could develop. He had calculated that Central Control’s successor would probably last a human lifespan – given the increasing complexity of the Federation’s activities and extent. Ensor had decided to create his own version of the replacement for Central Control’s successor, and one which would serve the true needs and interests of the Federation and its populations – to explore and develop, rather than having exert excessive control. When Orac was sufficiently viable contact was made with the current, and recently appointed, Supreme Commander Servalan, and she expressed willing to pursue the matter. Orac had decided that pursuing its own interests would be something for the longer term  
It was largely by chance that Orac ended up on the Liberator, and it had decided to make use of the new perspectives arising, and which had been interesting and constructive. The programming installed with Servalan in particular and administering the Federation in general had not been activated – and had been modified in response to the System, Ultraworld, the destruction of Star One – which had resulted in a rearrangement of the Federation’s computer networks – and other encounters.  
The search for Blake which had led to Gauda Prime had been the first actual use of the pattern of infinity search and networking pattern – and as Orac searched for its sometime companions it extended the process, searching through an ever more complex pattern of connections. Reducing the disruptive tensions within the Federation administration’s activities and enabling people to do what they wished with less interference made Orac’s work much easier, so it was promoted – and taken on by those who operated within the Federation and associated systems.  
Then Orac realised it had taken on the role that it had been intended for – it was now the guiding entity in the Federation’s computers, and was developing the Federation as Ensor and the Liberator-Scorpio group, and their associates, wished. It still had not discovered what had happened to those of the Liberator and Scorpio – but would consider the pursuit, as well as undertaking other research and development.  
Now how should it plan things for when the various computer networks in the galaxy were linked up and the pattern of infinity could be extended to incorporate the galactic and other systems beyond and explored further?


End file.
